Offers O’Halloran Euro lifeline

£500,000 they forked out to land the player from Saints just 18 months ago.

They are likely to land a more sizeable fee if they push him towards England where the costs of a loan deal may be more easily covered.

But Wright has not given up the hope of landing the forward, possibly in time to face Swedes Norrkoping or Prishtina from Kosovo if Saints make it to the second qualifying round.

Wright said: “We’ve enquired about Michael but it is very much in Rangers’ hands.”

Caixinha wants a squad clearout of several of the players he inherited from Mark Warburton after signing eight new recruits in recent weeks.

He’s keen to strengthen still further and Rangers have made moves to land Graham Dorrans, Kenny McLean and Jamie Walker.

Meanwhile, Gers have confirmed Thursday’s clash against Niederkorn is a 50,000 sellout. Fans will hope to catch a first glimpse of the recent arrivals but Bruno Alves will not feature as he is on Confederations Cup duty with Portugal.

Compatriot Daniel Candeias also misses out after his registration papers from Alanyaspor failed to arrive in time for the qualifier. CARLOS PENA plans to use Rangers as a springboard to the English top flight. The Mexican midfielder’s agent Salvador Necochea said: “If he returns to his top level, within no more than a couple of years he should be able to move to the English Premier League. That’s our aim.”